Driving your personal car might be the simplest and fastest way to get from point A to point B, but it is also an activity that demands your full concentration. Not surprisingly, many driving “veterans” are the ones responsible for numerous accidents, precisely due to their overconfidence behind the wheel. They believe – erroneously I might add – that maneuvering the vehicle becomes a reflex after a while and therefore, they don’t need to focus their full attention span.
While it is true that a driver with an extensive experience will generally be able to take adaptive actions much quicker than a newbie, unforeseen situation can and will happen. If you are paying attention to other activities rather than the road and the traffic, it is highly unlikely that you will be able act fast enough to avoid an accident.
Alternatively, if you break all traffic rules and you expect the other cars to avert a collision, what guarantee do you have that all the other drivers have keen reflexes? But what exactly are the most dangerous behaviors behind the wheel nowadays?
1. Talking on the phone
As mentioned, some people automatically believe that once they have gathered sufficient road experience, they are free to multitask while driving. In the busy world of today, many of us would like to utilize the time spent on the road for taking care of office business, chatting with our friends/spouse, placing orders, etc. over the phone. The reason why this is completely unadvisable does not only reside in the distracting nature of the activity, but also in the inability to use both hands for steering, signaling, changing gears, so on and so forth. While you should refrain from conversing on the phone completely, if it is an absolute necessity, then the least you could do is use a Bluetooth hands-free.
2. Running stop signs
Stop signs are there for a reason and even if you think that you can run them because the coast is clear, don’t. These traffic signs are generally installed in tricky areas or zones with limited visibility in order to prevent the so-called “T-bone” collisions. At the same time, Stop signs are used in high pedestrian/cyclist traffic zones and running them might result in hitting an inattentive passerby. For the 4 way stops, remember that the car on the right side always has the right of way.
3. Not signaling your turns properly
You simply cannot expect the other traffic participants to guess your intentions, no matter how obvious they seem to you. As of such, don’t act like the Secret Service and use the lights to properly signal your turns or line changing in a timely manner. If you signal at the very last moment, then the other drivers might not have enough reaction time to adapt accordingly, so don’t risk it. Remember, you are signaling to let the other drivers know what you are ABOUT TO DO, not what you are ALREADY DOING.
4. Running the red light
Nobody says that you shouldn’t step on the gas a bit when the light has just turned yellow, but never ever push the red light. Not only do you risk a considerably fine, but also a T-Bone collision and your vehicle already has enough velocity – you accelerated to catch the yellow traffic light, remember? – to cause significant damage and even casualties. The same applies for turn arrows, when drivers still stream in after the “GO” light is off. In this case, the risk of collision is also accompanied by the traffic jams their reckless actions determine.
5. Exceeding the speed limit
The speed limits are enforced because of the nature of the street, which typically involves pedestrian crossings, dangerous curves, poor road conditions or all factors combined. They are not set arbitrarily, as you might think, but rather based on the optimal speed that would allow you to maneuver the vehicle effectively. It is also necessary to note that you should regularly check the speedometer, because modern cars confer an extremely quiet and smooth driving experience, which sometimes makes it very difficult to accurately estimate the velocity.
Sometimes the roads aren’t built properly- they are either too bumpy or too old which is what makes them rocky and uneven. In some countries, the streets are practically full of pot holes and if there are no lights on the road at night, an accident cannot be avoided.
Young people, that is, teenagers, tend to believe that traffic rules are meant to be ignored. Hence, they are constantly speeding through the streets and jumping red lights. What they don’t understand is traffic lights exist for a reason and when they zoom past at a red light, they will crash against a tree or another vehicle.
Children today are in a hurry to grow up and they think of driving as the ultimate milestone. He then takes out the car without any parental supervision and naturally, he does not know the first thing about it. One wrong move and he will find himself reversing in full speed and the rest as they say, is history.
Some drivers are easily distracted-they feel that nothing will happen in that one minute as they try to finish another task, but unfortunately, they are wrong. It is strongly recommended that you avoid rummaging through your bag or putting on your lipstick when you are in the drivers seat.
Drugs like cocaine, LSD and marijuana tend to cause hallucinations and make everything look different. Therefore, driving under the influence may seem okay to some but it is a definite no-no. You will believe that the tree is on your left but it will actually be on your right and you will end up losing your license or worse, your life.
This fraud is kick-started when a dishonest person approaches that industry which looks into the repair and maintenance of cars. He tells them that he would like to be associated with such an accident that will make sense or exist nowhere else but on legal documents and papers. Because insurance companies tend to involve themselves only when the claim is above and beyond 1000 dollars, these criminals get away with it.
The criminal will orchestrate a seemingly real hit and run accident and go running to your insurance company. You will have no choice but to pay up the required amount.
The swindler will run towards a car that is moving at a great speed and suddenly come to halt, that is, squat, in front of it. An involved individual will appear in his car out of no where and move adjacent to the victim’s who will then try to keep himself from having an accident. The worst part is that chiropractors and doctors are usually involved in such cases.
This criminal in this case will move towards you and force you to have an accident. This is usually done in such intersections that are confusing simply because they have too many lanes and turns. Therefore, when you are traveling on such a street, make sure a car doesn’t overtake you from your left and force you to collide into them.
This technique is usually carried out during that time of the day or year when nobody really drives about. This is because the criminals want to make sure that there are no eye witnesses around. The swindler will patiently wait at the mouth of the intersection and smash his car into a passing vehicle. They will then allow their own ‘witnesses’ to speak to the authorities and you will be in major trouble.
